Wincing, he leaned close enough to put his mouth to her ear. “That’s exactly what I’m going to do.”
Alexa shivered. She was glad Jesse couldn’t see the liquid of her arousal gush from her pussy and wet her thighs.
She had no idea how long they were in the shower. When the water finally began to run cool, she shut it off. Opening the glass door, she reached for one of the oversized bath towels she’d placed on the counter. She wiped off Jesse’s face then helped him out so she could dry the rest of him.
By the time she got herself dried off and Jesse into clean boxers and onto the bed, she was panting with the effort. She put fresh salve on his cuts, got more aspirin into him, and found one of his T-shirts for herself.
Exhaustion suddenly hit her. Worse than that, her wolf-self, which had been raging to get out at the first sight of Jesse’s bruised body, was giving her no peace.
Not now. Go back in your closet
.
With fierce determination, she suppressed the urge to change and pulled a sheet over Jesse.
He reached out a hand to her. “Lie down with me? Please?”
How could she say no to him? Besides, this way she could keep a better eye on him. She slid in beside him, put her head on the pillow and one hand on his biceps. If he moved, she’d know.
He woke once, moaning in a low voice. She gave him more aspirin and put more salve on his cuts. Then she resumed her place next to him, monitoring him, unable to relax.
At some point, she finally fell asleep. When she woke, bright sunlight was flooding the room through the window. In the chaos of the night, she’d forgotten to close the blinds. She turned to see if Jesse was still asleep and found him looking at her with watchful eyes.
“Morning.” He sounded marginally better than the night before.
“Good morning.” She lifted herself on one elbow.
The sheet had slipped down to his waist, and she ran critical eyes over his body. He was a mass of discoloration and swelling.
“I’ll live,” he told her, as if reading her mind. “Although, at the moment, I’m not sure it’s worth the effort.”
If he hadn’t already been in such bad shape, she’d have slapped him. “Don’t even think that.” She grinned at him. “You have some interesting bruises, Mr. Farrell. Not even an artist could have done a wilder job.”
“Thanks. I think.” His face turned serious. “And thanks for taking care of me last night. It really wasn’t your job.”
“Will you shut up? My nursing skills needed practice, anyway.”
He circled her wrist with his fingers and moved her hand to lay on his morning erection. “I think I’m in a little better shape today,” he teased. “Want to find out? I’ll let you have all the control.”
She leaned forward and nipped the edge of his jaw. “Don’t tempt me. Besides, I don’t want to spoil the scene with the handcuffs.”
Fire blazed in his eyes, and his cock twitched beneath her hand. “Don’t you worry, darlin’. Nothing’s going to spoil it.”
“Still, I think we better hold off on this a little.” She climbed out of bed. “I don’t know about you, but I think some coffee would taste really good right about now.”
“You really are an angel come down from heaven.” His grin was weak but had a touch of the wicked in it. “Even if you won’t let me play.”
“Sure. Wait while I get my wings.”
An hour later, they sat at the kitchen table, drinking the last of the coffee and finishing off the toast she’d made. Jesse looked much better. His eyes were clearer, and the pain had receded to a tolerable level.
“You sure don’t spend a lot on groceries,” Alexa told him. “I couldn’t even find an egg in the fridge.”
“Takeout’s a lot easier,” he told her.
“I’m going to do some shopping as soon as I get dressed. You aren’t in any shape to go out to eat, and you can’t live on pizza and Chinese food.”
He reached for one of her hands. “Alexa, I have to go back to work. I can’t lie around here doing nothing while you tend to my battered body, much as I’d love to.”
“But you can’t go back yet,” she protested. “You’re in no shape to confront these gang members right now.”
The phone rang and she grabbed it before he could get out of the chair, relieved it was Charlie.
“You have no idea how glad I am to hear your voice,” she told him. “Tell this partner of yours he can’t go out with you tonight.”
“Put him on,” Charlie said.
She held the phone out so she and Jesse could both hear.
Charlie raised his voice so it would carry. “Captain says if you come back to work within the next two days, he’ll beat you up himself.”
There was more back and forth, but, in the end, Jesse gave in. Charlie promised to come by later before he started his shift.
“Okay,” Jesse told Alexa, a grin teasing at his mouth. “I’m yours to do with as you wish.”
“If only,” she teased. “Big talk for a wounded man.”
But once he’d gotten his protests out of the way, Jesse proved to be an amenable patient. Alexa went home to change then grocery shopped to stock his cupboards and fridge. When he could stand the pressure of her hands on him, she rubbed soothing ointment into every muscle of his body, taking particular care with the bruised areas. Twice she ran hot water in the tub and made him soak until the water cooled.
By the end of the second day, he was moving around with only a twinge of discomfort and the swelling around his nose had diminished considerably. When Charlie came by the second night, Jesse was feeling almost human.
Alexa fixed a fresh pot of coffee then told the men she was going home for a while.
“No, stay,” Jesse told her. “There’s nothing you can’t hear.”
“That’s all right. Talk to Charlie. I’ll be back soon. I have a few things I have to do.”
Like finally give in to the need to change and take a run in the woods.
After suppressing the urge for more than forty-eight hours, her body was in distress. She slipped out of the house through the back door and hurried to her own place. Shedding her clothes in her utility room, she peeked out to make sure it was dark enough to hide her movements. Satisfying herself that neither Jesse nor Charlie had stepped outside, she gave herself over to the change. In moments, her limbs had lengthened, her hands and feet morphed into paws, and her nose into a snout. Soft, shiny fur covered her skin.
Feeling the blood surge through her veins, she nosed open the door and raced across the lawn to the woods. Even in her wolf form, her desire for Jesse still coursed through her system. No matter how fast she ran, she couldn’t get away from it.
Blanking her mind, she concentrated on the scent of the trees and the wild plants, the rustling sounds of small animals, and the feel of the soft breeze against her pelt.
When she reached her favorite resting place, she dropped to the soft earth, panting. Conflicting feelings bubbled through her—a thirst for revenge for Jesse’s attackers, fear of his rejection if he knew the truth about her, and an emotional need for him so strong it threatened to overtake her. She was doing exactly what she’d promised herself she’d never do again. Never mind that Jesse had given her no indication of his own feelings except to devour her body.
She’d have to find a way to rein in her feelings. But, in the meantime, there was one thing she could do. She could keep watch over him, even though he wouldn’t know it.
Chapter Four
The following evening, Alexa watched from the side of her house as Jesse got into his car and headed for work. She’d been edgy and nervous all day, knowing what she planned to do and hoping she wasn’t making a huge mistake. Yet, doing nothing, when she knew he was in danger, wasn’t an option, either.
Fifteen minutes before she knew he’d be leaving, she’d allowed herself to change, using the shrubbery to conceal herself. Seconds after he left, she loped down the street, lengthening her stride to keep up with the car yet still remain out of sight.
The night was warm, the air heavy with humidity. Before too long, she was sweating beneath her pelt and panting but she kept on, always with the car in sight. At the police station, she hid behind the dumpster while Jesse went inside to check in. Minutes later, he came out with Charlie and they got into his beat-up car.
When they drove away, she took off after them. She used buildings and other structures to shield herself when she could. The most nervous situations were when she had to move into the open in order to keep the car in her line of sight.
Soon, they left Dolphin City behind and traveled along a two-lane country highway lined with giant oak trees. Here and there, a farmhouse sat well back from the road, some of them bordered by a chain-link fence. When they entered the outskirts of Grantville, the scenery changed again.
This was a town of migrant workers and day laborers, not a place where any type of wealth had intruded. Small houses crowded together on narrow residential streets where both pavement and lawn cried out for care. The downtown area, barely six blocks long, was clustered around the showplace of the town—the Super Walmart.
Jesse’s car pulled into the parking lot of a convenience store. At least twenty youths were gathered, smoking and drinking beer. They were very young, maybe too young to be perched so close to the edge of prison or death. She guessed the ages of the group from sixteen to twenty-five. All wore what seemed to be the uniform of the day—baggy hip-riding jeans and oversized T-shirts hanging below their knees. Some had the familiar bandana tied around their heads. Their expressions were filled with arrogance and disdain.
This was where Jesse had been hurt, trying to keep peace between this gang and the neighboring one. Every one of Alexa’s senses went on alert. She had read enough about gang warfare in the newspaper and seen enough on television to know the danger Charlie and Jesse walked into every night.
Alexa knew more than she wanted to about pack mentality. Reason went out the window. She’d faced other predators, four-legged ones, who didn’t frighten her the way these people did. The beating they’d given Jesse had been a warning. From the atmosphere they projected, they’d just begun.
She readied herself to act at the slightest sign of trouble. It was hard to restrain the urge to show herself, fangs bared. She swallowed a menacing growl that bubbled up from her chest.
She stiffened as Jesse and Charlie got out of the car and leaned against it. She was marginally relieved to see that he and his partner each carried two handguns. Charlie also cradled a riot gun in his arms, a silent warning.
Why didn’t Jesse and Charlie have any backup? Surely their captain wouldn’t have sent them out by themselves after what happened.
Then she remembered Jesse telling her how thin the task force was stretched.
The crowd moved forward as one mass, the tension in the air so thick it was nearly visible.
“Hey! Cop boys!”
A large youth with an arrogant swagger moved to stand in front of the group. He
lifted his chin in an aggressive motion.
This must be Bang Bang, she thought. The alpha.
“I’m not your cop boy and neither is he.” Charlie’s voice was even and controlled.
Alexa didn’t smell the intense fear from him she would have expected.
Good. He has himself under control.
“I mean you, the other cop boy.” He inclined his head toward Jesse. “You come back for more beat-down lessons? You don’t learn the first time?”
Alexa’s pulse speeded up, and she padded to the rear of the car, watchful. Her nose picked up the scent of fear emanating from several of the gang members.
Aha! They aren’t quite as cool about the cops as they pretend.
“You think beating the shit out of some cop is going to keep us out of here, Bang Bang?” Jesse’s voice was deceptively calm. “Forget it. Stay in your own territory. We don’t need trouble here in the county.”
“Oh yeah?” Bang Bang swaggered closer. “Like what kind of trouble you talkin’ about?”
Charlie still leaned against the car, letting Jesse have the lead. He’d been the victim. He needed to take control.
“You know damn well what I mean. Challenging the Cubans for their turf. Bad idea. Very bad.”
Bang Bang laughed, an unpleasant sound. “Them boat people need to go back where they came from and leave this turf to the homies. We’re just gonna help them along a little.”
“I’m telling you, give it up.”
“Or what, cop boy?” Bang Bang moved closer. “I think maybe we need to send a better message this time. Stay out of our territory.”
“No can do.” Jesse shook his head.
Alexa sniffed the adrenaline coursing through his system. She was afraid he was ready to provoke another confrontation, and she couldn’t let him do that.
Charlie straightened his posture and slipped his finger into the trigger guard of the rifle.
Bang Bang moved closer, a look of menace on his face. “Listen good this time, cop boy. Stay out of our way or they’ll be hauling your ass out of here in pieces. That plain enough?”
The crowd surged behind him, looking to surround the two cops. Alexa moved instinctively, padding to Jesse’s side, finally allowing herself to growl menacingly.
Bang Bang’s eyes widened. “Shit! You got yourself a dog?”
Jesse looked down at Alexa, and his eyes widened fractionally in surprise.
She could almost see his brain processing, recalling the glimpse of her the other day.
“He followed me here from my neighborhood. I don’t think
he
likes you, either.”
“Better call him off before he gets hurt,” someone shouted.
Alexa growled louder and bared her teeth.
“I don’t think I like that dog, cop boy.” Bang Bang’s hand came forward, holding a gun in the sideways grip gangs favored.
“You got a permit for that piece?” Jesse took one step forward.
“As much a permit as I need to shoot your ass.” His hand tightened on the grip.
Alexa launched herself, a silver-white blur as she clamped her teeth on Bang Bang’s hand, knocking him to the ground and shaking the gun loose. The man’s scream of agony split the air.